Perrotte within his rights to seek release from prison
By Edward L. Lambert
The reason parole hearings are held is to see if the
individual is fit to return to society and pose no
threat or danger to others. Part of the process for
the parole board is to make a judgment as to the
suitability of the inmate, based on rehabilitation,
prison records, and future plans.
The board also looks at employment opportunity,
family support, how remorseful the individual is for
his crime.
Mr. Brhel as an ex-prosecutor has ignored the possibility that individuals can
be rehabilitated and be of value to society. Gov. Schwarzenegger as repeated over and over that we must rehabilitate and make those in prison fit to be released and rejoin their families and communities.
Jeffrey Perrotte as a young man had some rough edges as do many of our young
people. Mr. Brhel has totally overstated Jeffrey Perrotte's record but is correct in
saying that Jeffrey Perrotte had not learned his lesson due to alcohol and drugs.
Jeffrey Perrotte and his entire family are very remorseful of what occurred involving
the DUI crash that claimed the life of Jilly Rizzo.
To talk about the problems at the trial level involved in this case would be
meaningless because we cannot turn back the clock. The real issue here is after 12 years of prison should Jeffrey Perrotte be eligible for parole based on his rehabilitation and achievements while in prison? Mr. Brhel ignores this completely and takes the position that mistakes are forever and no one can be rehabilitated. In other words, lock up people and throw away the key.
Jeffrey Perrotte has accomplished some amazing achievements while in prison
serving a 15-year-to-life sentence. He has received from an accredited California
University his B.S. in Business Administration, an M.B.A. in Business Administration and a
Ph.D. in Business. He did this with nearly straight A's and received letters of
achievement from the Dean of the University business school.
He has written articles for AA magazines that have been published worldwide.
Some of his written material is used by the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage
and the state of California. Major athletic teams have written Jeffrey Perrotte to
thank him for his written materials which they use with their teams. AA members from all walks of life and from near and far have written Jeffrey Perrotte to thank him for his words of wisdom on drinking and driving. Some claim his written words have saved their lives.
Jeffrey Perrotte has two life saving awards while in prison, each worth two
years against his sentence. He has worked in the education department at the prison
helping those less fortunate to get their GED certificates. While accomplishing these
many achievements he has served as the head of AA and NA as well as other self help
programs while in prison.
Somehow Mr. Brhel does not take any of these accomplishments into consideration.
More than a hundred guards and administrators at the prison have written memos and
letters in behalf of Jeffrey Perrotte urging the parole board to give him a date for
release.
The most recent parole board turndown was his second denial in the last two
years.
Mr. Brhel also misstates the fact that an attorney was hired to appeal to the
governor. The attorney was hired to represent Jeffrey Perrotte at the parole board hearing
and to put the parole board package necessary in proper order.
The attorney believes as do so many others that Jeffrey Perrotte has been
severely punished for his actions and that justice and fairness must now be sought. In
Mr. Brhel's opinion is hiring an attorney to represent you against a system where
everything is stacked against you unfair? Mr. Brhel then asks if Jeffrey
Perrotte is overstepping his bounds?
As one who has been closely involved with the efforts of Jeff Perrotte - I am
his father-in-law - to atone for an involuntary crime that sent him to prison in
1993, I am appalled The Desert Sun would permit the publication on July 2 of a diatribe
by former prosecutor Martin C. Brhel that completely misrepresents the case.
It was not, as Mr. Brhel wrongly states, a three-strikes conviction, mandating
life in prison, nor should that distorted assertion influence Gov. Schwarzenegger in
his pending consideration of a petition to overrule a recent decision by the Board
of Prison Terms to deny parole for Mr. Perrotte.
He has already served 12 of a sentence of 15-years-to-life for second-degree
murder as a result of an automobile crash that resulted in the death of Jilly Rizzo, a
crime that usually is tried as involuntary manslaughter.
Mr. Perrotte has never tried to mitigate the seriousness of the crime for which
he was convicted and in fact has expressed complete remorse for his actions and his
conduct prior to the crime.
His behavior during his long prison tenure has been exemplary, with two recorded
life-saving incidents that normally merit reduction for time served.
In a period when recidivism in the justice system is rampant, returning 70
percent of released convicts to prison within 18 months, Jeff Perrotte has been a poster
boy for permanent rehabilitation to society.
Despite Mr. Brhel's querulous criticism about invocation of the First Amendment
to petition the governor, Mr. Perrotte is completely within his rights to seek
release now, using the services of the same attorney who represented him at the Bureau
of Prison Board hearings.
It should be noted that he will be eligible to file for parole again within two
years.
Edward L. Lambert is a resident of Rancho Mirage
Mr. Brhel has shown his prosecutor mentality and
has ignored the basic issues dealing with the parole
and release of inmates after serving prison time
as punishment for a crime. Like the parole board,
Mr. Brhel has revisited and retried the original case.
A parole board hearing is a suitability for release
hearing after having served an appropriate amount
of time for the original crime.